Sycamore Community Schools will be spending more than $350,000 and switching to Google as part of its technology plan moving forward.

Sycamore Board of Education accepted a bid from Dayton Cincinnati Technology Services for $199,360 for 325 wireless access points and six outdoor access points and installation at its meeting June 4.

The board also approved a bid from Dayton Cincinnati Technology Services for the purchase of a minimum of 400 student laptops for $299 each and a bid from CDWG for the purchase of a minimum of 100 teacher laptops for $337 each.

The student and teacher laptops will all be Chromebooks. The student laptops will be part of a pilot program in Sycamore Junior High School. Director of Technology Bill Frtiz said the price for a Chromebook was much cheaper than a Windows laptop, which is about $700-800.

Fritz said the Chromebooks had a shorter lifespan – three to four years, instead of four to five – but, the “light-weight operating system” creates for less maintenance costs, in addition to the cheaper purchase price.

The Chromebooks come with Google software, such as Google Docs and Google Slides, instead of Microsoft Office. Fritz said it makes the Chromebooks easier to manage and reduces costs because the software will automatically update without a cost to the district.

“The collaborative tools themselves are much richer and more robust. There is a lot of collaborative tools. The teachers can make a document and share it back with the child. There are a lot of tools you can use in that space,” Fritz said, added the tools can be used on other devices through the Internet.

The district has been piloting Google Drive, a file storage and synchronization service, and will be turning it on for the whole district June 10. The district has also been using Google Apps for Education, or GAFE, to assist student learning online.

Fritz said the PTOs at the elementary schools have been helping out with replacing devices and have started buying Chromebooks for the schools.

Director of Academic Affairs Karen Naber said the curriculum throughout the district is switching to online, with the biggest switch being in fifth- and sixth-grade. She added science classes are using Gizmos, which allows for online simulations, and many classes already have online textbooks.

“The tools within the online textbooks are amazing. We have the capabilities for translation. The kids can go in and highlight the text or write in the text,” Naber said.

Naber said the goal is to start piloting a 1-1 device program for fifth- and sixth-grade students, meaning they would be given a Chromebook from the district that would be theirs for the year.

“We are trying to build a culture of getting devices into the hands of students in the lower grades and really making an impact of getting involved with the devices,” Fritz said.

Currently, the district uses a bring-your-own-device program and laptop carts in Sycamore Junior High and High School.

“We need to help them understand that they are going to need a tool when they get out of school and understand how to use it,” Fritz said.

Want to know more about what is happening in the Sycamore Community Schools? Follow Marika Lee on Twitter: @ReporterMarika